University undergraduate students studying in the Monica Partridge Building Digital Hub. Friday November 5th 2021.

Classics and English BA

University Park Campus, Nottingham, UK

Course overview

Are you fascinated by ancient civilisations, and how they helped shape the modern world? If so, this is the course for you.

We combine studying the literature, history, art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome with English language, literature and drama from Old English to the present day. You’ll explore different aspects of ancient society, choosing modules ranging from the Aeneid to ancient novels, religion, violence, comedy, animals and citizenship, as well as classics on film or on the modern stage.

Indicative modules

Mandatory

Year 1

Studying the Greek World

Mandatory

Year 1

Studying the Roman World

Optional

Year 1

Interpreting Ancient Literature

Optional

Year 1

Interpreting Ancient History

Optional

Year 1

Interpreting Ancient Art and Archaeology

Optional

Year 1

Greek and Roman Mythology

Optional

Year 1

Beginners' Latin or Greek: 1

Optional

Year 1

Beginners' Latin or Greek: 2

Optional

Year 1

Latin or Greek Texts: 1-6

Optional

Year 1

Studying Language

Optional

Year 1

Studying Literature

Optional

Year 1

Beginnings of English

Optional

Year 1

Drama, Theatre, Performance

Optional

Year 2

Extended Source Study

Optional

Year 2

Studying Classical Scholarship

Optional

Year 2

Intermediate Latin or Greek: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 2

Beginners’ Latin or Greek for second and third years: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 2

Pompeii: Art and Culture in a Roman Town

Optional

Year 2

Christian Empire

Optional

Year 2

Virgil and the Epic Tradition

Optional

Year 2

Oedipus through the Ages

Optional

Year 2

Ancient Greek Philosophy

Optional

Year 2

Conquerors, Caliphs, and Converts: The Making of the Islamic World, c.600-800

Optional

Year 2

Animals in the Ancient World

Optional

Year 2

Greece in the Archaic Age, c. 800-500 BC

Optional

Year 2

Greeks and Persians

Optional

Year 2

Classics and Film

Optional

Year 2

Coins, Cults and Cities: Coinage in the Eastern Roman Provinces (30 BC to AD 270)

Optional

Year 2

Communicating the Past

Optional

Year 2

Mapping the Humanities

Optional

Year 2

The Archaeology of Mycenaean Greece

Optional

Year 2

School of Humanities Work Placement

Optional

Year 2

From Talking Horses to Romantic Revolutionaries: Literature 1700-1830

Optional

Year 2

Literature and Popular Culture

Optional

Year 2

Modern and Contemporary Literature

Optional

Year 2

Shakespeare and Contemporaries on the Page

Optional

Year 2

Victorian and Fin de Siècle Literature: 1830-1910

Optional

Year 2

Language in Society

Optional

Year 2

The Psychology of Bilingualism and Language Learning

Optional

Year 2

Language Development

Optional

Year 2

Literary Linguistics

Optional

Year 2

Chaucer and his Contemporaries

Optional

Year 2

Old English: Reflection and Lament

Optional

Year 2

Ice and Fire: Myths and Heroes of the North

Optional

Year 2

Names and Identities

Optional

Year 2

Shakespeare and Contemporaries on the Stage

Optional

Year 2

From Stanislavski to Contemporary Performance

Optional

Year 2

Twentieth-Century Plays

Optional

Year 2

Employing the Arts

Optional

Year 3

Beginners’ Latin or Greek for second and third years: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 3

Intermediate Latin or Greek: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 3

Advanced Latin or Greek: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 3

Dissertation in Classics

Optional

Year 3

The Silk Road: Cultural Interactions and Perceptions

Optional

Year 3

Pompeii: Art and Culture in a Roman Town

Optional

Year 3

Christian Empire

Optional

Year 3

Virgil and the Epic Tradition

Optional

Year 3

Oedipus through the Ages

Optional

Year 3

Conquerors, Caliphs, and Converts: The Making of the Islamic World, c.600-800

Optional

Year 3

Animals in the Ancient World

Optional

Year 3

Greece in the Archaic Age, c. 800-500 BC

Optional

Year 3

Greeks and Persians

Optional

Year 3

Classics and Film

Optional

Year 3

Coins, Cults and Cities: Coinage in the Eastern Roman Provinces (30 BC to AD 270)

Optional

Year 3

Greek Tragedy

Optional

Year 3

Masculinity and Citizenship in Greece and Rome

Optional

Year 3

"Otherness" in Classical Art

Optional

Year 3

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Optional

Year 3

Masculinity and Citizenship in Greece and Rome

Optional

Year 3

Sparta

Optional

Year 3

Mapping the Humanities

Optional

Year 3

The Archaeology of Mycenaean Greece

Optional

Year 3

English Dissertation: Full Year

Optional

Year 3

The Self and the World: Writing in the Long Eighteenth Century

Optional

Year 3

Single-Author Study

Optional

Year 3

The Gothic Tradition

Optional

Year 3

Modern Irish Literature and Drama

Optional

Year 3

Reformation and Revolution: Early Modern literature and drama 1588-1688

Optional

Year 3

Songs and Sonnets: Lyric poetry from Medieval Manuscript to Shakespeare and Donne

Optional

Year 3

One and Unequal: World Literatures in English

Optional

Year 3

Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Optional

Year 3

Language and the Mind

Optional

Year 3

Advanced Stylistics

Optional

Year 3

Discourse and Power: Health and Business Communication

Optional

Year 3

Language and Feminism

Optional

Year 3

English Place-Names

Optional

Year 3

Dreaming the Middle Ages: Visionary Poetry in Scotland and England

Optional

Year 3

The Viking Mind

Optional

Year 3

Songs and Sonnets: Lyric poetry from Medieval Manuscript to Shakespeare and Donne

Optional

Year 3

Modern Irish Literature and Drama

Optional

Year 3

Changing Stages: Theatre Industry and Theatre Art

Optional

Year 3

Reformation and Revolution: Early Modern literature and drama 1588-1688

Optional

Year 3

Contemporary British Fiction

Optional

Year 3

Making Something Happen: Poetry and Politics

Optional

Year 3

Theatre Making

Information Icon

About modules

The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. This content was last updated on Tuesday 27 August 2024. Due to timetabling availability, there may be restrictions on some module combinations.

You will be taught via a mixture of large-group lectures and smaller, interactive seminars. You might also be taught through tutorials and supervisions. These are one-to-one meetings or discussions with an academic tutor.

All students are assigned a personal tutor at the start of each academic year. Your personal tutor oversees your academic development and personal welfare.

Peer mentoring

All new undergraduate students are allocated a peer mentor, to help you settle into life at Nottingham.

Find out more about the support on offer.

Teaching quality

  • 88% of our class of 2020 graduated with a 1st or 2:1 degree classification. Source: UoN student outcomes data, Annual Monitoring (QDS) Analyses 2020
  • Nine academics from the Department of Classics and Archaeology have received Advance HE recognition for their contribution to education, becoming Teaching Fellows

Teaching methods

  • Field trips
  • Lab sessions
  • Lectures
  • Practical classes
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Placements
  • Workshops

Assessment methods

  • Commentary
  • Dissertation
  • Essay
  • In-class test
  • Portfolio (written/digital)
  • Presentation
  • Reflective review
  • Written exam

You’ll have at least the following hours of timetabled contact a week through lectures, seminars and workshops, tutorials and supervisions.

  • Year one: minimum of 12 hours
  • Year two: minimum of 10 hours
  • Final year: minimum of 8 hours

Your tutors will also be available outside these times to discuss issues and develop your understanding. We reduce your contact hours as you work your way through the course. As you progress, we expect you to assume greater responsibility for your studies and work more independently.

Your tutors will all be qualified academics. You will have a personal tutor from the School of English and a joint honours adviser from the Department of Classics and Archaeology.

In English, the largest first year lectures are typically attended by up to 300 students, whereas the corresponding seminars are of 16 students. In years two and three, lectures may include up to 170 students, and seminar groups may range from 12 to 24. For Classics, the largest lectures are typically attended by 80 students, whereas the corresponding seminars are normally of 16 students.

As well as scheduled teaching you’ll carry out extensive self-study such as:

  • reading
  • locating and analysing primary sources
  • planning and writing essays and other assessed work
  • collaborating with fellow students

As a guide, 20 credits (a typical module) is approximately 200 hours of work (combined teaching and self-study).

As a Classics and English graduate, you will have gained the following key transferable skills:

  • strong communication, both oral and written
  • researching and presenting skills
  • source analysis
  • critical thinking
  • text analysis
  • planning and researching written work

Read our School of English and Department of Classics and Archaeology student and alumni profiles. Find out more about the range of skills you will gain, as well as the careers which our graduates go into.

You can also learn more about subject-related careers opportunities from our Careers and Employability Service.

Average starting salary and career progression

78.8% of undergraduates from the Faculty of Arts secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual starting salary for these graduates was £23,974.

HESA Graduate Outcomes (2017 to 2021 cohorts). The Graduate Outcomes % is calculated using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on graduates working full-time within the UK.

Studying for a degree at the University of Nottingham will provide you with the type of skills and experiences that will prove invaluable in any career, whichever direction you decide to take.

Throughout your time with us, our Careers and Employability Service can work with you to improve your employability skills even further; assisting with job or course applications, searching for appropriate work experience placements and hosting events to bring you closer to a wide range of prospective employers.

Have a look at our careers page for an overview of all the employability support and opportunities that we provide to current students.

The University of Nottingham is consistently named as one of the most targeted universities by Britain’s leading graduate employers (Ranked in the top ten in The Graduate Market in 2013-2020, High Fliers Research).

University undergraduate student Cole Pearce studying in Nightingale Hall accommodation's library, University Park. November 5th 2021.

A joint-honours degree has enabled me to pursue two distinct, yet related, disciplines that I enjoy immensely. It's a unique and enjoyable challenge as one's module choices tend to be more specialised than most, but this is a crucial part of the experience.

Nicholas Scheckter

Classics and English BA

Course data

Open Day June 2022